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BJP courts Salian as he quits JD(S)

Will declare plan on March 26, after meeting supporters, Yeddyurappa

The former Minister Vasanth V. Salian resigned from the Janata Dal (Secular) here on Friday and said that he will decide on the future course of action in six days.

Speaking to presspersons here, Mr. Salian said that Shobha Karandlaje, BJP candidate for Udupi-Chikmagalur parliamentary constituency, visited his house and requested him to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She had sought his cooperation for her victory.

He said the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa had also spoken to him over the telephone and asked him to join the BJP. Mr. Yeddyurappa had told him that he would visit him (Mr. Salian) on March 26. Both he and Mr. Yeddyurappa had together been elected as MLAs during the 1983 Assembly elections. Mr. Yeddyurappa had told him that he respected him, he said.

Mr. Salian said that the organisation of the JD(S) in Udupi district was weak and he was feeling neglected in the party. He had met the party leader and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and brought the state of affairs in the district unit of JD(S) to his notice. But there was no change in the functioning of the district unit of JD(S). Hence, he had no option but to quit, he said.

To a question, Mr. Salian said that he would hold discussions with his supporters and decide on his next move on March 26.

Mr. Salian represented Kaup Assembly Constituency five times in a row from 1983 to 2004 from the Congress. Upset at not getting the Congress ticket, he joined the JD(S) during the 2013 Assembly elections, contested from Kaup and lost. Mr. Salian was also a Minister in the Cabinets of M. Veerappa Moily (1993-94) and S.M. Krishna (2002-04).

JD(S) reaction

Deviprasad Shetty, president of district unit of JD(S), said that Mr. Salian had betrayed the JD(S) and its party workers by leaving it. It was the JD(S) which had given him ticket to fight from Kaup Assembly segment during the 2013 elections at the last minute. But Mr. Salian had forgotten it. He was given all respect in the party. “Mr. Salian is planning to join a party wedded to communalism. It will be better if Mr. Salian bowed out of politics,” he said.

Dhananjaya files papers

V. Dhananjaya Kumar, Janata Dal (Secular) leader, submitted his nomination papers for the Udupi-Chikmagalur parliamentary seat at the office of the Deputy Commissioner here on Friday.